I originally recommended the Count for the MR book club but as several people pointed out it may be a bit lengthy for some people to finish in a month. There did however seem to be a good bit of interest in reading it so I was thinking that we could have a group read of the book with perhaps a 90 or 120 day window.

This would be in addition to the standard MRBC, not a replacement. And when the Count is finished we could chose another lengthy title that wouldn't be practical for some in the 30 day timeframe.

-MJ

Again, this isn't to subplant the main read... I'm personally looking forward to reading HotB this month.

I originally recommended the Count for the MR book club but as several people pointed out it may be a bit lengthy for some people to finish in a month. There did however seem to be a good bit of interest in reading it so I was thinking that we could have a group read of the book with perhaps a 90 or 120 day window.

This would be in addition to the standard MRBC, not a replacement. And when the Count is finished we could chose another lengthy title that wouldn't be practical for some in the 30 day timeframe.

-MJ

Again, this isn't to subplant the main read... I'm personally looking forward to reading HotB this month.

Cool, how will it work? And...count me in. I have always loved, the Count.

Great idea! I would like to participate also. Are we going to use Harry's uploads on the Mobileread site?

We probably don't need this, but I'd like to suggest a "follow-up read".... Les Miserables by Hugo. I read it and thought it absolutely profound, but I'm sure I didn't get everything out of it that I should have.

My version will certainly get you the text, but you might wish to buy a commercial version for all the introductory essays, footnotes, and that kind of thing, if you're interesting in getting a more "in-depth" reading.

The version I've uploaded is the "standard" (anonymous) English translation commissioned by the original British publisher, Chapman and Hall, in 1846, and used in the vast majority of unabridged printed English editions (eg the Oxford World Classics edition). One should be aware, however, that it's a little "censored". In the French original, one of the leading characters in the book is a Lesbian, and all material relating to that was omitted from the English edition, since it was unacceptable to a Victorian English readership.

Penguin Classics commissioned a new translation in the 1990s which retains all the material omitted from my version, but it's written in "modern" English which many readers find to be at odds with the age of the story.

Penguin Classics commissioned a new translation in the 1990s which retains all the material omitted from my version, but it's written in "modern" English which many readers find to be at odds with the age of the story.